NASA Finally Redisigning Shuttle

So, after years and years of failing with the current shuttle design and watching independantly funded companies make it to space safely with much cheaper (and I must say much more intelligently designed) spacecraft NASA has decided that maybe they should redesign the shuttle. Huh, Ya think??? The new concept places all important cargo (read people or satellites etc.) in front of and as far away from all rockets as possible. The NY Times does a nice job of presenting the details in an article today.